Hello! This is Duskstar727. Thank you so much for checking out this new story, The Price Of Greatness. I plan for it to be a multi book story. I think it has a lot of potential, so I hope you'll give it a chance! Anyhow, the first thing you should know about this story- it takes place in the past, back in the Forest where the clans originally lived before The New Prophecy arc. This story takes place some time after Skyclan left the forest, long enough for the clans to have generally forgotten Skyclan. (There are some elders that remember Skyclan but they don't discuss it.) It takes place a while before the Warriors Super Editions about Tallstar, Bluestar, Yellowfang, and Crookedstar. There will not be much, if any, overlapping of characters from the actual books. The characters in this story were created by me (unless I mention otherwise.)

The other important thing- this story may get somewhat violent. I will not sugarcoat the battle scenes. If you can not stomach reading about blood and death, consider yourself warned. This story will not end with everyone happy. Characters will die. But I can tell you that I will do my best to make the story interesting and exciting. Now, enough of my blabbering. Without further wait, I present to you The Price of Greatness 1: Diverging Paths.

Prologue-

Far away from the shelter of the WindClan camp, two cats sat on a rise in the moor, shielded from view by a few scraggly bushes. To any onlooker, the presence of these two cats would instantly cause confusion. First of all, it was the middle of the night during the end of leaf-bare. No cat in their right mind would be out on the windy moors in such cold weather, not when they could be nestled in their den, surrounded by the warmth of their clanmates. The only reason cats would be out in such unpleasant conditions would be if they were on a moonhigh patrol, which these two cats were clearly not.

If one were to look very closely at the two cats, they would only become even more confused. One of the cats was a heavily pregnant queen. It was clear her kits would be born soon, she should be resting in her nest preparing for the challenging ordeal that was ahead of her, not out on the moor. And yet still, the two cats were not in camp. They were here, out in the open, hidden only by the cover of night. The only possible conclusion an onlooker could reach by considering all of the facts was that the two cats had something to hide. Something they didn't want their clanmates to find out about.

The pale brown tabby queen stretched out on her back, exposing her swollen belly to the other cat. Her fur was fluffed up against the cold. She didn't really want to be out here in this weather, but she had no choice. Instantly, the other cat- a small white she cat with pale gray patches- put her paw on the brown queen's belly. She kept it there for a few moments, and then removed it. The brown tabby sat up, curling her fluffy tail around her paws. She blinked her amber eyes expectantly at the small white she cat, clearly waiting for her to say something.

The white she cat fixed her bright blue eyes on the queen. At last, she spoke. "Your kits are strong and healthy, Birchflower. Your pregnancy is progressing normally. They will be born soon, and it is unlikely that there will be any problems with the kitting."

Birchflower purred, narrowing her eyes in pleasure. "That's good to hear, Snowdapple. When I felt them squirming more than usual today, I was worried something was wrong. I thought it'd be best to have a medicine cat check on them, but it seems that there was nothing to worry about."

The medicine cat did not purr back. Her expression was dark and serious. And mixed in with that seriousness, there was a touch of sadness. "I wouldn't say that…" She whispered, too softly for the queen to hear.

"Did you say something?" Birchflower mewed, leaning forward and catching the medicine cat's eye.

Snowdapple shook her head. "It's nothing. You know my opinion on this matter already. Anyways, the squirming you were feeling was a sign that the kits are healthy and active." She replied brusquely.

Birchflower's eyes flashed. "They will be strong warriors, just like their father." Her voice held just the slightest hint of a challenge.

Snowdapple blinked, not flinching in the slightest. "I don't doubt that. But you know that you can never tell your kits who their father is, right?" She meowed.

"Of course I know." She sighed, all of the fight going out of her meow. "I will never tell them that their father is a ShadowClan cat. They will never know Boulderstreak as anything but a warrior from a rival Clan. They will never find out the truth. It is a secret I will keep until I walk with StarClan."

"Secrets have a way of revealing themselves, no matter how hard we try to hide them. The truth will come out someday. It always does." Snowdapple murmured darkly.

"Well, it won't this time. This time, the truth will stay hidden forever." Birchflower meowed determinedly. "But I can't help but wonder what would happen if it did." She looked down at her swollen belly tenderly. "Would my kits be rejected by their clanmates? Would they always feel like outsiders, even within their own Clan? Would WindClan ever respect them for who they were?" Her voice rose as she became increasingly nervous. "Please, is there any sign that tells of their future?" Her eyes shone with distress.

The medicine cat was silent for a moment. She had not wanted it to come to this. She had not wanted to tell the young queen what she had seen. "I have… received a prophecy… from StarClan, regarding the future of your kits." Snowdapple chose her words carefully.

Birchflower's eyes widened. "A prophecy from StarClan? About my kits? What did you see?" Her eyes were bright with hope and joy, believing that a sign from their warrior ancestors could only mean good fortune for her kits.

Snowdapple flinched, not wanting to damper the queen's high spirits. She turned away, her face shrouded in shadows. "It may not be something you want to hear." She replied decisively.

"You must tell me. I must know what the future holds for my kits." Birchflower meowed steadily. "No matter what it is, I need to know. I am their mother."

"Your kits do have great destinies, though their greatness will come with a price." Snowdapple mewed.

Birchflower's eyes hardened. "What price?" She growled.

"That isn't important right now." Snowdapple avoided answering the question. "I need to get back to camp, and you should too. Our clanmates will notice our absence if we stay out for much longer." She rose to her paws, taking a step forward to leave.

Birchflower sprang in front of her, cutting of her exit. "What did the prophecy say?" The tabby queen hissed. It was clear she would not drop the issue.

Snowdapple's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I tried to warn you, Snowdapple. Knowing of the prophecy will only bring you sadness, but if you are determined to hear it, then very well. I will tell you." Snowdapple meowed. "The kits of Shadow and Wind will take different paths, illuminating the forest in an unforgettable blaze of light. But at the height of their greatness, their paths will cross in a clash of blood and rage, and one shall destroy the other."

Birchflower's eyes widened with terror, her fur fluffed out. "What does that mean? What does it mean by 'one shall destroy the other'?" She whispered, desperate for some sort of reassurance.

For the first time that night, the medicine cat's eyes shone with sympathy for the queen. "It means that your kits will rise to be great, greater than any before them. But someday, one of them will kill the other."

The queen backed away in terror, her ears flattened to her skull and her eyes wide with horror. "No! No it can't be! My poor, poor kits!" Birchflower wailed.

"I'm so sorry." Snowdapple meowed, wrapping her tail around the queen's trembling shoulders.

"Isn't their anything we can do to stop the prophecy? Please, there has to be a way!" Birchflower cried.

"I do not know. All you can do is raise them with love, and pray that StarClan will guide them. Prophecies are warnings of something that will happen in the future, but they don't always come true in the ways we expect. We never know exactly what they mean. There is still hope." Even as Snowdapple spoke the words, she knew they were filled with empty promises. It was true that there was still a chance that the prophecy meant something other than what they thought it did. But she did not think that was very likely. The prophecy was very clear. One of Birchflower's unborn kits would someday kill the other. They would be great, unforgettable warriors, and the forest would never be able to forget them. But they would pay the ultimate price for their greatness. Snowdapple stared up at the moon in silence as the queen beside her wailed in grief for what was to come.